Improving Client Service: The Perception vs. Reality

Client service is a cornerstone of successful practice management. Yet, a disconnect can form between how veterinary professionals perceive the level of client service and the reality experienced by pet owners. Bridging the gap is essential, not only to strengthen client relationships but also to ensure better patient outcomes and business sustainability.

Case in point, a 2022 Insiders’ Insights report from the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association addressed what clients want from a veterinary team. Interestingly, most veterinary responders believed that pet owners visit for quality medicine (57%), followed by customer service (27%), with convenience being a lesser priority at only 6%. The line of thinking is that service and convenience don’t drive the client relationship.

Herein lies the crux of the matter: perception versus reality, and the lack of information.

A Vetsource article [bit.ly/40s5lp0] found “limited data on what pet owners want specifically in terms of the client experience.” However, U.S. consumer surveys reveal these key factors:

• Speed
• Convenience
• Helpful employees
• Friendly service

All Hands on Deck

Good intentions and professional standards shape our perception of the veterinary industry. Extended hours, follow-up calls and modern equipment are standard, and team members take continuing education to ensure the medicine they practice remains at a high level. From that perspective, the client care appears robust and attentive. Yet, the pet owner’s perspective isn’t always so rosy. Long wait times, brief consultations, a lack of communication and confusion around treatment plans can erode trust in the veterinary team, even if the medical care is top tier.

In a world where convenience, transparency and personalization are highly valued, pet owners expect more than just competent veterinary care. They also want to feel seen, heard and involved in their cat or dog’s wellness journey. A friendly front desk or a state-of-the-art facility is not enough if client communication falls short or emotional support is lacking. The genuine driver behind an exceptional pet owner experience often lies behind the scenes. It’s staffing.

The right team, in the right roles and with the right support, can make or break the client journey. Yet, many practices struggle to understand how staffing directly influences the perceived and actual level of care that clients and patients receive. Understaffing can be just as detrimental to the client relationship as inadequately trained or poorly leveraged employees.

Understaffing leads to overworked employees, which in turn results in overlooked clients. Even the most skilled and compassionate team members can’t deliver gold-standard care if they’re running on fumes. An inadequately trained team can lead to miscommunication, longer wait times and inconsistent service, leaving clients feeling frustrated, undervalued and less confident in the care their pets receive. When team members aren’t fully leveraged — they work below their training or license — the consequences can be inefficiency, rushed appointments and missed opportunities for client education. Those outcomes ultimately diminish the overall client experience and a pet owner’s trust in the practice. Finding the correct mix and the proper balance is critical to providing the best patient care and client experience.

What You Can Do

Staffing solutions that improve client care and the pet owner experience can include one or all of the following:

• Investing in support roles: Hire or train client care coordinators or follow-up specialists to manage after-visit communication and client touchpoints. These support roles allow for more thoughtful, attentive care and can lead to a more relaxed and personalized client experience.
• Fully leveraging veterinary technicians and assistants: Empower them to educate, communicate and manage more of the client interaction, freeing veterinarians to focus on medical decision-making.
• Cross-training to create flexibility: Teaching employees multiple roles or skills enables better coverage during busy periods and reduces bottlenecks at the front desk or with phone call management.
• Optimizing schedules: Avoid overbooking appointments. Buffer times allow for meaningful client interaction and reduce the client’s perception of being rushed.
• Monitoring workload and burnout: Happy teams provide better care. Regular check-ins, flexible work schedules and mental health support contribute to improved morale and enhanced client service. Consider having remote teams handle callbacks, appointment confirmations and telehealth consults. That way, pet owners receive timely support without the bottlenecks arising from hectic clinic days, and the in-clinic team can focus more on patient care.
• Listening to feedback: Your team knows the pain points, so include your employees in problem-solving and decision-making to build sustainable solutions.
• Monitoring the ease of doing business with you: Ask clients about their interactions with your practice, and then work to reduce roadblocks and improve the convenience.

A Seamless Experience

Let’s talk about convenience. It plays a crucial role in shaping a client’s experience, and it’s directly influenced by how well a practice is staffed and how efficiently the team operates. When staffing is optimized and team members are fully utilized within their skill sets, pet owners benefit from smoother scheduling, shorter wait times, faster follow-ups and clearer communication — all of which make doing business with the hospital easier and more satisfying.

A well-structured, well-leveraged team creates a seamless experience that respects clients’ time and needs, reinforcing their trust in you and encouraging their long-term loyalty. Additionally, other forms of convenience can help your team deliver award-winning client care.

Here are 14 ways to make doing business with your team more convenient:

• Online scheduling: Allow pet owners to make appointments through your office’s website or mobile app.
• Subscription models: Pet owners are accustomed to subscription-based services, such as streaming TV. Veterinary practices can do the same, making subscription services a powerful solution for navigating the money conversation. Predictable monthly payments for essential services support positive, solution-focused conversations.
• Telemedicine: Offer remote consultations in nonemergency cases. Virtual appointments can save clients time and reduce the stress of transporting a pet. Telemedicine also provides the benefit of remote work for employees.
• Automation: The convenience economy heavily relies on automation to streamline processes. For the team, it can reduce repetitive tasks, minimize errors and free up time for more meaningful client interactions.
• Mobile apps, wearable health monitors and patient portals: These offerings allow clients to access medical records, schedule appointments, request prescription refills, receive reminders, check a pet’s health metrics and more. Such accessibility reduces phone calls to the clinic, minimizes information wait times, streamlines workflows, improves follow-through, and strengthens the perception of professionalism and responsiveness. The result is more client satisfaction and greater loyalty.
• Digital communication: Texting, emails, social media and messaging apps keep clients informed about practice updates, pet health needs and in-clinic promotions, saving staff time.
• E-commerce: Clients and team members save time when pet owners can request drug refills online and receive medications and pet supplies by mail or a delivery service.
• Curbside service: It blossomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Allow clients to check in and communicate with your team — and possibly witness in-vehicle veterinary care — without having to walk inside your clinic.
• Flexible hours: Consider extending your clinic’s hours, including evenings and weekends, to accommodate busy clients. Using a third-party provider can reduce team burnout, improve morale and increase employee retention.
• Payment options: To streamline the invoice process, provide online and contactless payment systems. The option can help during sensitive financial discussions and reduce the time your practice spends chasing overdue accounts.
• Home visits: Offer them for pets that require medical attention but have difficulty traveling. Home visits can free up clinic space for more complex or urgent cases. You might want to partner with a third-party service provider.
• Education and resources: Share online articles and videos with pet owners to summarize common health issues. Removing the client’s need to wait for office hours or a callback to get answers can improve compliance when you lay out the care visually. In addition, providing access to previsit forms, home-care guides and instructional videos can save time for the client and team.
• Loyalty programs: Implement those that reward clients for their continued patronage and referrals. Automatic rewards, streamlined checkouts and digital access to savings encourage routine visits, making doing business with your practice more efficient and financially predictable.
• Personalization: Leverage data and algorithms to personalize your products and services, enhance client convenience, and make the care a pet receives feel more relevant. The team benefits because personalization can reduce guesswork, improve workflow and standardize care protocols.

It’s Your Choice

The convenience economy reflects the changing preferences and lifestyles of pet owners who prioritize time, efficiency and ease of use. Businesses that cater to those preferences can thrive in today’s economic environment, while those that don’t may face challenges in meeting client and team expectations.

Exploring ways to make your veterinary practice more convenient for pet owners is the key to building lasting relationships, improving compliance and standing out in a competitive market. By prioritizing client-friendly solutions, you show that your practice values the patient’s well-being and the pet owner’s experience. Convenience isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s also a powerful tool for increasing client satisfaction, streamlining operations and delivering better care.

Make sure to implement the best staffing solutions. By aligning job roles, personal strengths and work schedules, practices can ensure they have the right mix of people to handle daily operations efficiently and stay responsive to client and patient needs.

Team members who feel supported and empowered will deliver the care clients remember for all the right reasons.

EXPERT ADVICE

Walmart founder Sam Walton once said, “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

MORE CE OPPORTUNITIES

Today’s Veterinary Business provides veterinary professionals with free, online, RACE-approved CE on practice management topics. Check out previous articles at go.navc.com/CE-TVB.